A stretch of road in Northern Ireland is set to be protected after its link with Game of Thrones has transformed the site into a tourist magnet.

Bregagh Road, near the village of Armoy in County Antrim, has been used as a filming location for "the Kingsroad" in the HBO series. Known as the Dark Hedges, thanks to its tunnel of beech trees, it was featured in the first episode of the second series, when Arya managed to escape King's Landing disguised as a boy.

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Northern Ireland's tourist board says the picturesque avenue, which was planted in the eighteenth century, is one of the country's "most photographed natural phenomena", and the high visitor numbers have led to an increase in traffic passing through in recent years.

Now, Stormont's Department for Infrastructure has published an order banning cars using the road, starting from October 30.

The ban will also prevent buses and coaches from using the designated stretch of Bregagh Road, although agricultural and emergency vehicles while be exempt from the new policy. Anyone who breaks the law will face an over $1300 fine.

The move comes after environmental groups have recently criticized the heavy traffic around the Dark Hedges. In April, campaigners NI Greenways tweeted to say the volume of cars in the area was a "national disgrace slowly killing a national treasure".